Transport News
Comair’s fleet grounded indefinitely
South Africa’s civil aviation regulator grounded Comair’s planes indefinitely on Sunday over unresolved safety issues, in a move that also affects low-cost airline Kulula and British Airways, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. A spokesperson for the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said it had extended a 24-hour precautionary suspension of Comair’s operator certificate indefinitely.
Parade and Turvo Serve Up Digital Transformation for Freight Brokers
Integration of Technology & Data Create Transformative Solution
3Gtms to Host Fireside Chat with Industry Leading 3PL, Traffix, and FreightWaves
This live discussion will touch on ways 3PLs can meet increased customer demand and tackle today’s toughest supply chain issues
MyCarrier Launches New TMS Pro, Offering New Features and More Robust Capabilities for Shippers
MyCarrier just announced that it has expanded MyCarrierTMS, adding three additional packages to its standard carrier-sponsored plan: Startup, Growth and Enterprise.
Increased spend on economic development over medium term is modest, but intended to be potent
Expenditure on economic development will increase at an average annual rate of 8.5% over the next few years, from R201-billion in 2021/22 to R256-billion in 2024/25, the National Treasury revealed in its Budget 2022 document published on February 23. This function in government’s capital allocation promotes faster and sustained inclusive economic growth to address unemployment, poverty and inequality, it said.
Zimbabwe Road Agency seeks to extend $140m loan by ten years
The Zimbabwe National Road Administration Agency is negotiating with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to restructure $140-million due in May to be repaid over ten years. The roads agency will adopt a “more cautious” approach in settling the loan due to exchange-rate fluctuations, CEO Nkosinathi Ncube said in an interview in the capital, Harare.
Sanral warns of N1 Northbound lane closures for sinkhole rehabilitation
The South African National Road Agency Limited (Sanral) issued a notification to road users on February 23, advising them to expect lane closures on the N1 Northbound between Botha avenue and the N1/R21 Flying Saucer interchange, in Centurion, to allow for rehabilitation work on a sinkhole. The lane closures on the N1 section 21 at kilometre 22.1 will be implemented from February 23 at 22:00 to February 24 at 04:00 and then again from February 24 at 22:00 to February 25 at 04:00.
Attacks against the trucking industry must stop now – RFA
Renewed turmoil in the trucking industry has prompted the Road Freight Association (RFA) to again call for urgent intervention by the South Africa Police Service (SAPS). The All Truck Drivers Forum (ATDF) has called on truck drivers not to operate on Monday.
TFR to release tender in April for take-or-pay access to container corridors
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) will release a request for proposals (RFP) on April 1 for the sale of slots to private operators on the key container corridor linking Gauteng and Durban, as well as parts of the Cape corridor. The State-owned utility tells Engineering News that it is in the process of finalising the number of slots to be made available during the first phase of the initiative, which is designed to arrest what has been a steady decline over several years, but which worsened considerably during the Covid lockdowns.
Competition Tribunal approves DP World’s acquisition of Imperial Logistics
The Competition Tribunal has conditionally approved the acquisition of Imperial Logistics by DP World. DP World is ultimately controlled by the Dubai government. The conglomerate has been steadily expanding into Africa over the last few years.
Transnet records highest-ever theft of copper cable, JMPD arrests two suspects
About 1 000 km of copper cable used to power electric locomotives has been stolen, to date, in the financial year ending on March 3, Transnet reports. This is a significant increase on the 700 km of cable stolen in the 2020/21 financial year and the 395 km of cable stolen in the 2019/20 financial year.
Gautrain looking into solar panels to power its stations
Gauteng’s express railway system Gautrain is working on greening its operations, and plans to have solar power solutions for its stations, says CEO of Gautrain Management Agency, William Dachs. Dachs participated in an online discussion hosted by Arena Holdings on the importance of environmental sustainability in business. He shared Gautrain’s efforts to respond to environmental and socioeconomic challenges. Asked about the Gautrain’s plans to adopt greener energy, Dachs shared that two areas are being targeted – the train itself, which is difficult, and its facilities like the stations. Gautrain is working on greening stations currently to get them powered by renewable energy or solar power solutions, as is seen with some shopping malls that rely on solar rooftops.
Concrete progress on historic fighter restoration project with building of workshop structure
The project to rebuild South Africa’s only Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft has reached an important milestone, with the erection of the structure for the new workshop required to reconstruct the aircraft. This was marked with a small celebration held on Saturday, March 5, which was the 86th anniversary of the first flight by the original prototype Spitfire, in England. During the Second World War the Spitfire (which was produced in 24 different versions, or marks, including a naval variant for use from aircraft carriers, called the Seafire) became a global symbol of freedom and resistance to tyranny, being operated by almost every single Allied air force. Across all categories, it is one of the most famous aircraft ever built.
LightBox RCM Investor Sentiment Report: Industrial Remains Top Choice for Investors
A new LightBox RCM report notes that investors continue to focus on buying industrial logistics and warehouse space and are expecting sales volume to increase in 2022.
FRONTdoor Collective Hires Industry Veteran Chris Patteson as CTO & CISO
As tech architect for this unique e-commerce delivery network, Patteson will build their vision for best-in-class innovation and flexibility in the last mile.
Banyan Technology Expands Leadership Team
Supports Aggressive Product Development Strategy, Commitment to Service
Traffic to switch to contraflow on N3 between Cato Ridge and Dardanelles
Traffic between Camperdown and Dardanelles on the N3 will switch to contraflow on the evening of March 9, a few days earlier than expected, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) says. “Contraflow is a temporary arrangement where traffic on a road is transferred from its usual side to share the other half of the carriageway with traffic moving in the opposite direction,” explains Sanral Eastern Region project manager Mohamed Parak.
Ramaphosa says Budget aimed at growth and employment
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented a budget that supports and reinforces the programme of action announced in the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) to grow the economy and create jobs, says President Cyril Ramaphosa in a February 28 newsletter. The budget provides details on how government plans to raise money and where it is going to spend that money to improve the lives of South Africans.
City of Joburg launches probe into R94m spent on 13km road which is in ‘complete disarray’
The City of Johannesburg has launched a probe into R94-million which was spent on the Braamfischerville Ext 12 Gravel Roads Upgrade project. The City said the current state of the road was in "complete disarray".
Large-megawatt hydrogen fuel cells eyed by shipping industry in move away from fossil fuels
Decarbonising the shipping industry requires collaboration and investment in developing new fuel types and propulsion technologies, with hydrogen fuel poised to play an important role in the energy transition of this sector, reports the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC). Establishing safe technologies that the industry has confidence in is a vital part of achieving a move away from fossil fuels, it states.